Nicholas R. Lardy is a senior fellow in the foreign policy studies program at the Brookings Institution whose expertise is in Asia, particularly in the Chinese economy. He also serves on the board of directors and executive committee of the National Committee on United States-China Relations. He previously directed the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. Lardy has written numerous articles and books on the Chinese economy; his current project is Financial Reform in China's Economic Transition, which evaluates the reform of China's banking system and measures the economic consequences of deferring reform in the state-owned sector.

Lardy received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.